Construction sheet and fastening means



May 23, 1967 T. B. JOHNSON CONSTRUCTION SHEET AND FASTENING MEANS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 16, 1965 1 VENTOR. 7/70/7170 5. o/wvsox/ BY f i? 7- 7'02A/S May 23, 1967 T. B. JOHNSON CONSTRUCTION SHEET AND FASTENING MEANS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 16, 1965 GPA/577' May 23, 1967 T. B. JOHNSON CONSTRUCTION SHEET AND FASTENING MEANS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 16, 1965 I VENTOR. 790ml): 5. J H/Yso/Y.

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United States Patent 3,320,711 CONSTRUCTION SHEET AND FASTENING MEANS Thomas B. Johnson, Droz Ave., Ambridge, Pa. 15003 Filed Feb. 16, 1965, Ser. No. 433,139 5 Claims. c1. 52-483) ABSTRACT (PF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for connecting a pair of roof sheets. One edge of the sheet has an upwardly inclined portion with an upturned edge forming an upwardly facing trough. The other edge of the sheet has a top wall, an adjacent downwardly inclined portion and an inturned edge portion. The sheets are positioned with the flat top wall in overlying relation with the upwardly facing trough. A fastener is frictionally secured to the upturned edge portion of one sheet and the underside of the downwardly inclined portion and inturned edge portion of the other sheet to secure the sheets to each other and to the roof.

This invention relates to building construction sheets and means for fastening construction sheets to structural members.

Metal roofing and siding consists generally of two types, the corrugated type and the V beam type, both of which are illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3. When used for roofing, the corrugated type construction sheets are positioned with one and one-half corrugation side laps, that is, one and one-half corrugations along the lateral edge portions are in overlapped relation when the sheets are assembled. The corrugated sheets are generally fastened to each other along their lateral edges with self-tapping sheet metal screws. A special metal and neoprene combination type washer is used under the heads of the screws to prevent leakage around the screw heads. The corrugated sheets are generally fastened to the supporting beams or building structure with self-tapping screws which usually pierce the sheets in the valley of the corrugations. For certain applications the corrugated sheets may be fastened to the supporting beams with self-tapping screws that pierce the crest of the corrugation and extend into and through the building supporting structure.

The V beam type construction sheets are usually positioned with what is presently known as a one-half V side lap lateral edge portion. The lateral edges of the V beam sheets have a depending edge portion that extends downwardly to a location approximately midway between the valley and the crest of the construction sheet. The lateral edge portions are so positioned that the edges are in overlapped relation, as is illustrated in FIGURE 3. The V beam sheets are fastened together by a self-tapping sheet metal screw that extends through the crest or fiat top wall of the overlapped sheets and are fastened to the building supporting beams or structure by a self-tapping screw that extends through the valley or bottom flat wall.

The above described corrugated and V beam type constructions have several undesirable features, the principal undesirable feature being inadequate weatherproofing. For example, during inclement weather where there is a high wind, water will blow through the side laps of both the corrugated metal construction sheet and the V beam construction sheet. The corrugated construction sheet with one and one-half overlapped corrugations is designed so that a valley portion of the underlying sheet serves as a gutter for draining off any water that may blow upwardly between the lateral edge of the top sheet and over the crest of the adjacent underlying corrugation. This type of gutter, however, does not function well as a drainage gutter because the space between the overlapped sheets is quite small and soon becomes clogged at various locations with dirt and other foreign material that is blown in along with the water at the side laps and over the underlying corrugation. The dirt and foreign material clogs the gutters and the water flowing over the crest of the underlying sheet soon fills the gutter and spills over the edge of the lip of the underlying sheet into the inner portion of the building.

In the V beam construction there is no drainage gutter provided and although the corrugations in the V beam type sheet are usually deeper than the corrugations in the corrugated metal construction sheet, water is still blown through the laps during severe wind storms. T o remedy this problem, frequently the side laps have a band of cement material therebetween to prevent side lap leakage. The use of a cement for this purpose is expensive, time consuming and does not always provide a water tight joint. For example, where the workman applying the cement skips places or where the layer of cement is too thin to completely fill the void between the two sheets, the water seeps in between the sheets as previously described.

With the previously described construction there are exposed screw fasteners that are unsightly and provide an opening for the access of water therethrough. The metal construction sheets are subjected to expansion and contraction during rapid temperature changes that are unequal to the expansion and contraction of the inside building structure. This contraction and expansion of the construction sheets causes the screw holes pierced therein to secure the sheets to each other and to the building structure to become elongated. The elongation of the screw holes securing the sheets to each other and securing the sheets to the structural members results in the screws becoming loose and water leaking through the screw holes. Frequently, oversized holes for the selftapping screws are made because extremely small tolerances must be followed. Even where the proper drill bit is selected, improper drilling by the workman may ream the holes to a size larger than the drill bit. The selftapping screws soon work loose from the oversized holes and either disengage the overlapped lateral end portions of adjacent sheets from each other, or permit water to seep through the oversized holes. Substantially the same thing occurs at the screws that fasten the sheets to the structural beams. tion, however, is usually more severe.

Frequently it is desirable to remove the construction sheets from one building and re-erect the same construction sheets on another building at another location. During the re-erection of the used construction sheets it is necessary to plug the old screw holes and to make new screw holes as in original construction. This procedure is expensive, time consuming and presents an unsightly external appearance.

Briefly, the invention herein disclosed is directed to an improved V beam construction sheet that has a lateral end portion with an upturned lateral edge that is secured in a receiver portion of a fastening means. The fastening means is secured to the building support structure and secures a lateral edge of the construction sheet thereto. The overlapping end portion of the adjacent sheet is positioned in overlying relation with the fastening means and the upturned lateral edge portion of the underlying sheet. The overlying sheet lateral edge portion is secured to the fastening means in a suitable manner. The upturned lateral edge forms a longitudinal adjacent thereto with sufficient clearance to provide a means for draining water that may flow upwardly between the lateral overlapped edge portions of the sheets so that the possi- The damage at the latter loca-' bility of leakage into the lateral portion of the building is eliminated. In one embodiment of the invention, the construction sheet other lateral end portion has an inwardly bent edge portion that is positioned between the upper surface of the underlying adjacent construction sheet and an under surface of the fastening means to secure the lateral edge of the top sheet to the building structure without the use of exposed fasteners.

It is, therefore, an object of my invention to provide a new construction sheet and fastening means that eliminatessubstantially all of the above enumerated problems and has many other advantages over the presently known construction sheets and fastening means therefor.

For a better understanding of the present invention, its objects and advantages, reference is made to the following written description, to be taken in conjuction with the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a composite perspective view of a building structure illustrating the various embodiments of the invention.

FIGURES 2 and 3 are views in cross section illustrating the prior art corrugated construction sheet and V beam construction sheets in assembled relation.

FIGURE 4 is a view in section illustrating a pair of improved side by side construction sheets in a partially assembled condition.

FIGURE 4a is similar to FIGURE 4 illustrating my improved construction sheets in an assembled condition.

FIGURE 4b is similar to FIGURE 4 with the overlying sheet removed.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged view in section illustrating in detail the fastening means securing the underlying construction sheet to the building structure and the overlying construction sheet to the fastening mean in overlapped relation to the underlying sheet.

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary view in section illustrating the manner in which the upturned lateral edge of the underlying construction sheet is secured to the fastening means to prevent longitudinal movement, except for the small amount necessary to allow for the contraction and expansion of the sheets.

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to FIGURE 6 illustrating the manner in which the upturned edge of the construction sheet is secured to another type of fastening means to prevent longitudinal movement thereof. This is used where the fastening means is furnished in short sectionsv known as fastening clips.

FIGURE 8 is a view in section similar to FIGURE 4 illustrating another embodiment of my invention wherein the overlying construction sheet is secured to the fastening means in another manner.

FIGURES 9 and 10 illustrate intermediate fastening means that secure the overlapped edge portions of the adjacent sheets toeach other between the transversely extending structural members.

FIGURES 11 and 12 illustrate intermediate fastening means for the intermediate V shaped corrugations between the fastening means for the sheet lateral end portions. The intermediate fastening means may be used with wider construction sheets that require additional fastening.

Referring to the drawings and particularly FIGURES 4 and 5, there is illustrated a building construction sheet generally designated by the numeral 10 that has a V beam configuration with relatively flat top walls 12, flat bottom walls 14 and spaced inclined walls 16 that join the top and bottom walls 12 and 14.. For convenience, one lateral edge of the construction sheet 10' will be generally designated the front or leading side edge portion 18 and the other lateral side edge portion will be genreally designated the rear or trailing side edge 20. The pairs of elongated construction sheets 10 are arranged to be secured to a building structure 22 with the front side edge portion 18 of one construction sheet 16 in overlapping relation with the rear side edge portion 20 of the adjacent construction sheet 10. The. building structure 22 is usually channel shaped purlins extending transversely beneath the construction sheets at preselected distances from each other. The building structure 22 may, however, be any other suitable elements to which the construction sheets may be secured. A fastening means generally designated by the numeral 24 is arranged to be secured to the building structure 22 and to secure the overlapped side edge portions 18 and 20 of adjacent construction sheets 10*to each other. The construction sheets may be of any suitable lengthand may extend the entire length of the roof or be formed in relatively short sections that have their end portions overlapped, preferably over a structural member of the building. FIG- URE 1, for example, illustrates the construction sheets overlapped with the top edge 21 in underlying relation with the bottom edge 23 of a longitudinally aligned sheet. The construction sheets may have protective coatings thereon such as bituminous or plastic material. Such protected metal sheets are described in US. Patent #3,l50,465 and the patents recited therein.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG- URES 4 and 5, the construction sheet front side edge portion 18 has an inturned lateral edge 26 that is positioned between an upper surface of the underlying construction sheet and a surface of the fastening means 24, as will be later described. The intermediate trough portions are similar to the known V beam type and may comprise one or more intermediate troughs depending on the relative width of the construction sheet 10. The rear side edge portion 20 is similar in certain respects to the corrugated type of construction sheet, with the sloping legs, however, being at a somewhat steeper angle. portion 20 has an upwardly inclined intermediate portion 28 that terminates in a. flat substantially horizontal portion 30 that is in an elevated plane relative to the flat bottom wall 14 and is thus spaced upwardly from the upper surface 32 of the building structure 22. The substantially horizontal portion 3% maybe slightly inclined toward the intermediate portion 28 to provide for drainage and also to secure the inturned portion 26 of the overlying sheet. Extending upwardly from the flat horizontal portion 30 is an upwardly sloping leg 34 that terminates in an upper curved portion 36. Spaced from the'upwardly sloping leg 34 is another sloping leg 38 that converges and blends into the curved upper surface 36. The lower portion of the sloping leg 38 forms a rebent curved portion 40 that has a lower surface 42 abutting the building structure upper surface 32 and is spaced downwardly from the flat horizontal portion-30. An upwardly extending edge portion 44 forms an upwardly extending longitudinal lip along the lateral edge of the construction sheet 10. The curved portion 44 between the sloping edge 44 and leg 38 forms a longitudinally extending gutter generally designated by the numeral 46.

The fastening means 24, which may be either an elongated fastening strip extending continuously over two or more of the structural members 22 ,or relatively short separate clips secured to each of the structural members 22, has a starting leg 48 which is fastened to the structural member 22 by means of a self-tapping screw 50 extending through aperture 52 in the fastener starting leg 48 and aperture 54 in structural member 22.. Although a selftapping screw 54 is illustrated, it should be understood that any other suitable fastening means such as a bolt, a welded in place stud, or a power actuated stud or pin, may be also employed to secure the starting leg 48 of fastening means 24 to the structural member 22.

Opposite the starting leg 48 the fastener 24 has an inturned curved lip 56 which is used to engage the inturned lateral front side edge .26 of the construction sheet 10 to the underlying rear or trailing side edge 24) of the adjacent construction sheet 10. Adjacent'the starting leg 48 the fastening means 24 has a rebent portion 58 extending upwardly therefrom at an acute angle and forming a The rear side edgeof construction sheet and 64 of the fastener 24 would be in mating relation, as illustrated. The end inclined wall 16 of the overlying sheet is then fastened to the fastening means downwardly sloping leg 66 by a rivet 82 or other suitable fastening means. Oversized holes may be provided in the inclined end wall 16 to allow for a limited amount of expansion and contraction of the construction sheets. Any leaks that may occur through the apertures made in either the inclined end wall 16 or the fastening means downwardly sloping leg 66 would not be of any damaging nature to the internal portion of the building since the underlying sheet, not being pierced by a fastener, would drain away any water along the upper surface of the flat horizontal portion 30. The modification illustrated in FIGURE 8 may be desirable in certain instances where protected metal type construction sheets are used that have a protective coating that does not permit severe or substantial bends without cracking or otherwise damaging the protective coatings. Another advantage of this modification is that the construction sheets would nest better and would require less room during shipment and storage.

As illustrated on the left side of FIGURE 1, the fastening means 24 are illustrated as clips holding the side edge portions or laps tightly together at the supporting structure 22 which are usually channels or beams spaced in parallel relation a distance of 4 to 6 feet from each other. Between the supporting beams 22 the bottom construction sheet 10 may sag away from the overlying construction sheet 10 at the overlapped portion and cause an unsightly gap between the inturned lapportion 26 and the horizontal portion 30 unless additional fastening between the spaced building structures is provided.

This additional fastening between the supporting struc ture or beants may be effected with the clips illustrated in FIGURES 9 and 10. In FIGURE 9 a clip generally designated by the numeral 84 has an upper member 86 that has the same configuration and may be formed or extruded simultaneously with the fastening means 24 illustrated in FIGURE 5. The clip 84 has a mating lower member 88 that has the configuration illustrated in FIGURE 9 and is bolted or secured to the upper member 86 by means of a fastener 90. The tightening of the fastener 90 causes the inturned lip 56 of the upper member 86 and the lip 92 of the lower member 88 to hold the inturned lateral edge 26 of the overlying sheet 10 tightly against the portion 30 of the underlying sheet.

FIGURE 10 illustrates another method of holding the inturned lip 26 of the overlying sheet firmly against the portion 30 of the underlying sheet. A clip generally designated by the numeral 94 having the general configuration of the fastening means 24 with the horizontally extending portion 70, rebent portion 58 and starting leg 48 omitted therefrom is secured to the sloping leg 38 of the underlying sheet by means of a rivet or the like 96 extending through apertures in the upwardly extending sloping portion 62 of the clip 94. FIGURE 1 illustrates the clips 94 securing the inturned lip 26 of the overlying sheet against the portion 30 of the underlying sheet between the building structural members 22. Where a continuous fastening means 24 is utilized, as is illustrated on the right hand side of FIGURE 1, the sagging of the lapped portion of the underlying sheet may be prevented by crimping the rebent portion 58, as is illustrated at 98 in FIG- URE l at locations between the structural members 22 in a manner similar to that illustrated in FIGURE 6.

Where it is desired to make a wider construction sheet, for instance a construction sheet that has a lateral dimension or side lap spacing of twice the suggested distance illustrated in FIGURE 4, by adding two or more V shaped troughs having the flat top Wall 12 and bottom flat wall 14, it may be desirable to provide intermediate fastening means from the construction sheet to the building structure 22. Intermediate fastening means are illustrated in FIG- URES 11 and 12. The intermediate fastening means generally designated by the numeral 100 are preferably in the form of clips secured at each beam 22. Referring to FIGURE 11 the intermediate fastening means 100 has a starting leg 102, and an upwardly extending leg 104 with an inclined portion 106. The clip 100 terminates in a flat horizontal portion 108 spaced from the starting leg 102 a distance substantially equal to the distance between the flat top wall 12 and bottom fiat wall 14 of the construction sheets. The starting leg 102 has an aperture 110 therethrough and is secured to the building structure 22 by means of a screw 112. The inclined portion 106 abuts an inclined wall 16 of the construction sheet, and the wall 108 abuts the underside of the flat top wall 12. A screw 114 pierces the flat top wall 12 and extends through an aperture 116 in the flat horizontal portion 108 to secure the construction sheet 10 to the building structure 22.

In FIGURE 12 there is illustrated another intermediate fastening means generally designated by the numeral 118 that has a lower horizontal starting leg 120, an upper horizontal leg 122 connected by an upwardly extending intermediate portion 124. The leg is secured to the building structure 22 by means of a screw 126 and a top wall 12 of the construction sheet is secured to the horizontal leg 122 by means of a screw 128. In both of the embodiments illustrated in FIGURES 11 and 12 there is only one fastener as, for example, in FIGURE 11, fastener 112 that secures the clip 100 to the building structure 22, and one fastener 114 that secures the clip 100 to the construction sheet 10. With this arrangement the construction sheet 10 is free to expand or contract without elongating the fastener holes in the construction sheet. The expansion and contraction of the construction sheet causes a slight turning movement of the sheet about the intermediate fastening means 100 and a corresponding movement of the intermediate fastening means 100 about the fastener 112. The screws 112 and 114 would not be worked loose by this movement due to expansion and contraction because the intermediate fastener 100 is fabricated of a substantially heavier stock than the construction sheet 10 and the building structure 22 is of a much heavier stock than the intermediate fastener 100. Suitable means, such as a washer 130, may be positioned under the screws 114 and 128 to prevent water leakage through the apertures provided for the screw in the construction sheet top flat wall 12. Any suitable type of fastener may be employed to secure the intermediate fastening means 100 and 118 to the building structure 22 and the construction sheets 10. Where desired, the fastener 114 may extend through the construction sheet sloping wall 16 and the sloping portion 106 of the intermediate fastening means 100 in lieu of the fastening extending through the top wall 12.

Although the construction sheets, clips, fastening means and the like have been indicated as being fabricated of metal and fastened to metallic building structures, it should be understood that the construction sheets and fastening means may be of plastic or other types of building material and may be fastened to wood or other types of building structures.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle, preferred construction, and mode of operation of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiments. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. A joint for connecting a pair of construction sheets in overlapped relation comprising,

a pair of corrugated construction sheets each having a body portion with a front lateral side edge portion and a rear lateral side edge portion,

said body portion having V beam corrugations with a curved portion 36. The fastener 24 is provided with a downwardly sloping leg 66 which terminates in the inwardly bent portion 56. The downwardly sloping leg 66 is joined to the curved portion 64by means of rebent portion 68 that provides some resilience to the rebent curved edge portion 56. The rebent portion 58 forming the female receiver 60 is joined to sloping portion 62 by a horizontally extending portion 70 which is spaced above the curved portion 49 of the rear edge 20 so that there is adequate space provided for gutter 46. In a disassembled condition, the starting leg 48 assumes an angular posi tion with the upper surface 32 of structural member 22 and has the surface adjacent the rebent portion 5-8 spaced from the building structure upper surface 32. The selftapping screw 50 urges the starting leg downwardly to the position illustrated in FIGURE 5 for the purposes hereinafter described.

The rear or trailing edge 20 of a construction sheet is secured to the building structure 22 as follows. Apertures 54 are tapped in the structural members 22 either as the structural members are fabricated or after the structural members have been erected. Because of the configuration of construction sheets 10 it is now possible to predrill the apertures 54 in the building structure 22. The construction sheets 19 are positioned across the transversely extending building structure 22 with the under surfaces of bottom walls 14 abutting the upper surface 32 of structural members 22. The fastening means 24, either fastening strips or clips, are positioned with the upper curved portion 64 in overlying relation with the crest of upper curved portion 36 and upturned edge 44 is positioned in the female receiver 60, as is illustrated in FIG- URE 4b. The screw 50 extending through the apertures 52 and 54 is tightened to draw down the starting leg 48 toward the building structure upper surface 32. The turning moment exerted by the starting leg 48 urges the female receiver 60 downwardly on the male lip 44 of the construction sheet rear. side edge The upwardly extending sloping portion 62 and the rebent portion 58 urge the construction sheet rear side edge rebent curved portion 40 downwardly into contact Withthe building structure upper surface 32 so that the lower surface 42' is forced tightly against the building structure upper surface 32. The tightening of fastener 56 causes the fastening means 24 to also exert a downward pressure on the crest of upper curved portion 36 which in turn causes the adjacent bottom wall 14 to be forced down tightly against the build-' ing structure upper surface 32. The fastening means 24 is so designed and has the desired configuration so that when the screw 59 is tightened and a downward force is exerted on the construction sheet rear side edge 20, a gap remains between the fastener inturned lip 56 and the portion 30 of the construction sheet that is less than the thickness of the inturned lip 26 of the overlying sheet. Thus when the lip 26 is forced into place inturned lip 56 of the fastening means exerts a downward pressure against the lip 26 to firmly hold the inturned lip 26 in place against the portion 36 of the underlying sheet. This feature prevents the sheets from fluttering during windy or gusty weather conditions.

Where the fastening means 24 is an elongated strip, a portion of the female lip 60 with the upwardly extending portion 44 positioned therein is crimped by a clockwise movement of a portion of lip 60 to form a crimped portion 72, thus fixing the rear edge 20 of construction sheet 10 to the fastening strip :24 and preventing longitudinal movement of theconstruction sheet 10 relative to the fastening means 24 except a small amount needed for contraction and expansion of sheets as is illustrated in FIGURE 6. Where a clip type fastening means 24 is utilized, as illustrated in FIGURE 7, portions of the upturned lip 44 on opposite sides of the clip 24 are crimped, as illustrated in FIGURE 7, at'74 and 76 to again prevent substantially all longitudinal movement of the construction strips relative to the fastening means 24.

To secure the front edge 18 of the adjacent construction sheet 10 in overlapped relation with the underlying rear edge 20 of the positioned construction sheet 10, theslop- 'ing wall 16 having the inturned edge 26 is positioned in overlying relation with the fastener 24 with the top wall 12 abutting the curved portion 64 as is illustrated in FIG- URE 4. The horizontal portion 30 o-f.the underlying trailing edge 29 is spaced from the inturned clip end portion 56 and, as previously stated, may have a slight slope thereto to further assure a positive lock between the inturned end portion 26 of the overlying front side edge 18. The overlying building sheet 10 is then moved from right to left as viewed in FIGURE 4 until the inturned edge 26 extends beneath the fastening mean inturned edge portion 56 and the upper surface of the flat horizontal portion 39 as illustrated in FIGURES 4a and 5. The flat top wall 12 of the overlying sheet rests on the crest ofthe clipcurved portion 64 and the clip leg 66 abuts the sloping wall 16 that has the inturned edge 26. The crest of upper curved portion 64 and the downwardly sloping leg 66 provide additional support for the first V shaped corrugation that overlies the fastening means 24.

The fastening means 24 and the construction sheets 10 are unique in that the fastening means 24 fastens both edge portions 18 and 20 of all succeeding construction sheets with no parts of the fastening strip or olip exposed to the exterior of the building. With this arrangement there are no obstructions for the continuous drainage gutter 46. It ispossible with the configuration illustrated in the drawings to form a. 12" wide construction sheet using 18 wide material. This is advantageous in that a majority of the modern building requirement and spec ifications can be met by fastening the construction sheets to the supporting members on 12" centers. The leg 66 abutting the sloping surface 16 of the overlying sheet 10 provides a relatively rigid or sturdy area for securing rigid fastenings of exterior fixtures such as snow guards, safety cleats, and the like without puncturing the underlying sheet. Thus, fasteners extending through the sloping legs 16 and 66 do not cause leakage problems since ample drainage is provided on the upper side of sloping leg 34 of the underlying construction sheet 10 that extends throughout the length of the sheet.

In FIGURE 8 there is illustrated a modification of the front or leading side edge portion 18 and the fastening means 24. Where applicable, similar numerals will indicate sirnilar portions of the respective construction sheets and fastening means. In FIGURE 8 the inturned lateral edge portion 26 previously provided on the front or leading side edge 18 is eliminated and a straight or tiangent portion 78 is provided that is a continuation of the end inclined wall 16. The tangent portion 78 is arranged to bear against the upwardly inclined intermediate portion or shoulder 28 of the underlying construction sheet 10.. Likewise, the inturned curved lip 56 of the fastening means 24 has been eliminated and a straight or tangent portion 80 has been extended until it almost touches the upwardly inclined intermediate portion 28' of the underlying sheet. As illustrated in FIGURE 8, the flat horizontal portion 30 is extended until the upper ourved portion 36 of the underlying sheet and the upper curved portion 64 of the clip 24 meet at a common .center line. It should be understood, however, that the dimension of the horizontal portion 30 of underlying sheet 10 can be reduced to move the crest or upper curved portion 36 closer to the end inclined wall 16. With this modified configuration, the fastening means'24 would be similarly modified so that the upper curved portions 36 substantially flat horizontal top wall, a substantially flat horizontal bottom wall and inclined side walls joining said flat top wall and said flat bottom wall,

said rear lateral side edge portion having an upturned end portion extending throughout the length of said sheet, said body portion having an upwardly inclined portion adjacent to and diverging from said upturned end portion and forming an upwardly facing trough therebetween,

said front lateral side edge portion terminating in an inclined side wall extending downwardly from an adjacent flat top wall,

said sheets positioned with said front lateral side edge portion of one of said sheets overlapping the rear lateral side edge portion of said other sheet with said rear lateral side edge upwardly facing trough positioned beneath the top wall of said overlying sheet,

fastening means positioned between and securing said front lateral side edge of one sheet to said rear lateral edge of said other sheet, and

said fastening means including a receiver for frictionally engaging said rear lateral side edge portion upturned end portion and a laterally spaced downwardly sloping leg engaging said overlying front lateral side edge inclined side wall.

2. A joint for connecting a pair of construction sheets in overlapped relation comprising,

a pair of corrugated construction sheets each having a body portion with a front lateral side edge portion and a rear lateral side edge portion,

said body having V beam corrugations with a substantially flat horizontal top wall, a substantially flat horizontal bottom wall and inclined side walls joining said flat top wall and said fiat bottom wall,

said rear lateral side edge portions having an upturned end portion extending throughout the length of said sheet,

said body portion having an upwardly inclined portion adjacent to and diverging from said upturned edge portion and forming an upwardly facing trough therebetween,

said body portion having a downwardly inclined portion adjacent to and diverging from said upwardly inclined portion and forming an upwardly facing curved portion therebetween,

said front lateral side edge portion terminating in an inclined side wall extending downwardly from an adjacent fiat top wall with an inturned end portion,

said sheets positioned with said front lateral side edge portion of one of said sheets overlapping the rear lateral side edge portion of said other sheet with said rear lateral side edge upwardly facing trough and said upwardly facing curved portion positioned beneath said adjacent overlying top wall of said overlying sheet,

fastening means positioned between and securing said front lateral side edge of one sheet to the rear lateral side edge of said other sheet, and

said fastening means including a rebent portion forming a receiver frictionally engaging said rear lateral side edge portion upturned end portion and a laterally spaced downwardly sloping leg portion with an inturned end portion,

said laterally spaced downwardly sloping leg portion abutting the underside of said overlying front lateral side edge inclined side wall and Said inturned end portion urging said front lateral side edge inturned end portion into frictional engagement with an upper surface of said underlying construction sheet at a location spaced laterally from said rear lateral side edge upwardly facing curved portion.

3. A joint for connecting a pair of construction sheets in overlapped relation comprising,

a pair of corrugated construction sheets each having 10 a body portion with a front lateral side edge portion and a rear lateral side edge portion,

said body portion having V beam corrugations with a substantially fiat horizontal top wall, a substantially fiat horizontal bottom wall and inclined side walls joining said flat top wall and said flat bottom wall,

said rear lateral side edge portion having an upturned end portion extending throughout the length of said sheet,

said body portion having an upwardly inclined portion adjacent to and diverging from said upturned end portion and forming an upwardly facing trough therebetween,

said body portion having a downwardly inclined portion adjacent to and diverging from said upwardly inclined portion and forming an upwardly facing curved portion therebetween,

said front lateral side edge portion terminating in an inclined side wall extending downwardly from an adjacent flat top wall and having an inturned end portion,

said sheets positioned with said front lateral side edge portion of one of said sheets overlapping the rear lateral side edge portion of said other sheet with said rear lateral side edge upwardly facing trough and said upwardly facing curved portion positioned beneath a fiat top wall of said overlying sheet,

fastening means positioned between and securing said front lateral side edge of one sheet to said rear lateral side edge of said other sheet, and

said fastening including a downwardly inclined wall engaged to said downwardly inclined portion of said rear lateral side edge portion and a laterally spaced downwardly sloping leg with an inturned end portion,

said laterally spaced downwardly sloping leg abutting the underside of said overlying front lateral side edge inclined side wall and said inturned end portion urging said front lateral side edge inturned end portion into frictional engagement with the upper surface of said underlying construction sheet at a location spaced laterally from said rear lateral side edge upwardly facing curved portion.

4. A joint for connecting a pair of construction sheets in overlapped relation comprising,

a pair of corrugated construction sheets each having a body portion with a front lateral side edge portion and a rear lateral side edge portion,

said body having V beam corrugations with a substantially fiat horizontal top wall, a substantially flat horizontal bottom wall and inclined side walls joining said flat top wall and said flat bottom wall,

said rear lateral side edge portions having an upturned end portion extending throughout the length of said sheet,

said body portion having an upwardly inclined portion adjacent to and diverging from said upturned end portion and forming an upwardly facing trough therebetween,

said body portion having a downwardly inclined portion adjacent to and diverging from said upwardly inclined portion and forming an upwardly facing curved portion therebetween,

said front lateral side edge portion terminating in an inclined side wall extending downwardly from an adjacent flat top wall and having an inturned end portion,

said sheets positioned with said front lateral side edge portion of one of said sheets overlapping the rear lateral side edge portion of said other sheet with said rear lateral side edge upwardly facing trough and upwardly facing curved portion positioned beneath said adjacent overlying top wall of said overlying sheet,

fastening means having a portion positioned between said front lateral side edge portion of one sheet and 1 1 said rear lateral side edge portion of said other sheet to secure said sheets to each other and to a building structure beam, said fastening means including a leg portion angularly disposed relative to the upper surface of said beam, a rebent portion extending from said leg portion and forming a receiver for said rear lateral side edge portion upturned end portion, a curved portion extending from said receiver and having substantially the same configuration as said rear lateral side edge upwardly facing curved portion and positioned in overlying relation therewith, a downwardly sloping leg portion extending from said curved portion and terminating in an inturned end portion,

said downwardly sloping leg portion positioned in abutting relation with the underside of said overlying front lateral side edge inclined side wall and said inturned end portion in overlying relation with said front lateral side edge inturned end portion, and

means to secure said fastening means leg'portion to said beam to urge said leg portion into substantially parallel relation with said beam upper surface and thereby urge the underside of said rear lateral side edge portion upwardly facing trough into abutting relation with said beam and said lateral front side edge inturned end portion into abutting frictional engagement with the upper surface of said underlying construction sheet.

S. A joint for connecting a pair of construction sheets in overlapped relation comprising,

a pair of corrugated construction sheets each having a body portion with a front lateral side edge portion and a rear lateral side edge portion,

said body having V beam corrugations with a substantially flat horizontal top wall, a substantially flat horizontal bottom wall and inclined side walls joining said flat top wall and said flat bottom wall,

said rear lateral side edge portions having an upturned end portion extending throughout the length of said sheet,

said body portion having an upwardly inclined portion adjacent to and diverging from said upturned end portion and forming an upwardly facing trough therebetween,

said body portion having a downwardly inclined portion adjacent to and diverging from said upwardly fastening means having a portion positioned between said front lateral side edge portion of one sheet and said rear lateral side edge portion of the other sheet to secure said sheets to each other and to said building structure beam,

said fastening means including a leg portion angularly disposed relative to the upper surface of said beam, a rebent portion extending from said leg portion and forming a receiver for said rear lateral side edge portion upturned end portion, a curved portion extending from said receiver and having substantially the same configuration as said rear lateral side edge upwardly facing curved portion and positioned in overlying relation therewith, a downwardly sloping leg portion extending from said curved portion and terminating in an inturned end portion,

said downwardly sloping leg portion positioned in abutting relation with the underside of said overlying front lateral side edge inclined side wall and said inturned end portion in overlying relation with said front lateral side edge inturned end portion, and

means to secure said fastening means leg portion to said beam to urge said leg portion into substantially parallel relation with said beam upper surface and thereby urge the underside of said rear lateral side edge portion upwardly facing trough into abutting relation with said beam and said lateral front side edge inturned end portion into abutting frictional engagement with the substantially horizontal portion of said underlying construction sheet rear lateral side edge portion between said downwardly inclined portions.

References (Iited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS inclined portion and forming an upwardly facing curved portion therebetween, 360796 441887 Growl 52 545 673,218 4/1901 Panner 52-543 X said body portion having a substantially horizontal por- 1 123 921 1/1915 Pmbert 52 y 521 tion extending laterally from the lower portion of 1539632 5/1925 Beldin 52 52O said downwardly inclined portion and terminating 17432O6 1/1930 "I 52:520 in a second downwardly inclined portion joinin said r e a I e 2,148,434 2/1939 Calkms et a1. a- 52-534 X flat bottom wall ad acent to said rear lateral side 2163 840 6/1939 Hunker 52 534 edge portion, said horizontal portion extending in a 2173774 9/1939 Birch et 52-522 plane substantially parallel to and spaced above the 3150465 9/1964 J h plane of said fiat bottom wall 0 nson 52 537 3,253,376 5/1966 Straus 52-512 said front lateral side edge portion terminating in an inclined side wall extending downwardly from an 7 adjacent flat top wall and having an inturned end portion,

said sheets positioned with the undersurface of said FRANK L, ABBOTT, Primary Examiner.

A. C. PERHAM, Assistant Examiner. 

4. A JOINT FOR CONNECTING A PAIR OF CONSTRUCTION SHEETS IN OVERLAPPED RELATION COMPRISING, A PAIR OF CORRUGATED CONSTRUCTION SHEETS EACH HAVING A BODY PORTION WITH A FRONT LATERAL SIDE EDGE PORTION AND A REAR LATERAL SIDE EDGE PORTION, SAID BODY HAVING V BEAM CORRUGATIONS WITH A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT HORIZONTAL TOP WALL, A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT HORIZONTAL BOTTOM WALL AND INCLINED SIDE WALLS JOINING SAID FLAT TOP WALL AND SAID FLAT BOTTOM WALL, SAID REAR LATERAL SIDE EDGE PORTIONS HAVING AN UPTURNED END PORTION EXTENDING THROUGHOUT THE LENGTH OF SAID SHEET, SAID BODY PORTION HAVING AN UPWARDLY INCLINED PORTION ADJACENT TO AND DIVERGING FROM SAID UPTURNED END PORTION AND FORMING AN UPWARDLY FACING TROUGH THEREBETWEEN, SAID BODY PORTION HAVING A DOWNWARDLY INCLINED PORTION ADJACENT TO AND DIVERGING FROM SAID UPWARDLY INCLINED PORTION AND FORMING AN UPWARDLY FACING CURVED PORTION THEREBETWEEN, SAID FRONT LATERAL SIDE EDGE PORTION TERMINATING IN AN INCLINED SIDE WALL EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY FROM AN ADJACENT FLAT TOP WALL AND HAVING AN INTURNED END PORTION, SAID SHEETS POSITIONED WITH SAID FRONT LATERAL SIDE EDGE PORTION OF ONE OF SAID SHEETS OVERLAPPING THE REAR LATERAL SIDE EDGE PORTION OF SAID OTHER SHEET WITH SAID REAR LATERAL SIDE EDGE UPWARDLY FACING TROUGH AND UPWARDLY FACING CURVED PORTION POSITIONED BENEATH SAID ADJACENT OVERLYING TOP WALL OF SAID OVERLYING SHEET, FASTENING MEANS HAVING A PORTION POSITIONED BETWEEN SAID FRONT LATERAL SIDE EDGE PORTION OF ONE SHEET AND SAID REAR LATERAL SIDE EDGE PORTION OF SAID OTHER SHEET TO SECURE SAID SHEETS TO EACH OTHER AND TO A BUILDING STRUCTURE BEAM, SAID FASTENING MEANS INCLUDING A LEG PORTION ANGULARLY DISPOSED RELATIVE TO THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID BEAM, A REBENT PORTION EXTENDING FROM SAID LEG PORTION AND FORMING A RECEIVER FOR SAID REAR LATERAL SIDE EDGE PORTION UPTURNED END PORTION, A CURVED PORTION EXTENDING FROM SAID RECEIVER AND HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME CONFIGURATION AS SAID REAR LATERAL SIDE EDGE UPWARDLY FACING CURVED PORTION AND POSITIONED IN OVERLYING RELATION THEREWITH, A DOWNWARDLY SLOPING LEG PORTION EXTENDING FROM SAID CURVED PORTION AND TERMINATING IN AN INTURNED END PORTION, SAID DOWNWARDLY SLOPING LEG PORTION POSITIONED IN ABUTTING RELATION WITH THE UNDERSIDE OF SAID OVERLYING FRONT LATERAL SIDE EDGE INCLINED SIDE WALL AND SAID INTURNED END PORTION IN OVERLYING RELATION WITH SAID FRONT LATERAL SIDE EDGE INTURNED END PORTION, AND MEANS TO SECURE SAID FASTENING MEANS LEG PORTION TO SAID BEAM TO URGE SAID LEG PORTION INTO SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL RELATION WITH SAID BEAM UPPER SURFACE AND THEREBY URGE THE UNDERSIDE OF SAID REAR LATERAL SIDE EDGE PORTION UPWARDLY FACING TROUGH INTO ABUTTING RELATION WITH SAID BEAM AND SAID LATERAL FRONT SIDE EDGE INTURNED END PORTION INTO ABUTTING FRICTIONAL ENGAGEMENT WITH THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID UNDERLYING CONSTRUCTION SHEET. 